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The Senators did all sorts of moving and shaking on their way back to the NHL basement.

It would, however, be their last, last-place finish.

The promise of a start that saw the Senators win six of their first 11 soon disappeared, as they dropped their next eight. That swoon cost the team’s first coach, Rick Bowness, his job.

On the team’s way to a league-low 41 points, the casualties would also include GM Randy Sexton and Bowness’ replacement, Dave “Sparky” Allison.”

New GM Pierre Gauthier hired Jacques Martin as the new coach, a move that gave the team some stability behind the bench for the next nine years.

Meanwhile, the Senators’ home address was officially changed, from the Civic Centre on Bank St. to the beautiful new Palladium in Kanata, with the first game in the new building on Jan. 17.

And between Sexton and Gauthier, from April 7, 1995 to March 20, 1996, a total of 16 trades were made.

Gauthier convinced malcontent centre Alexei Yashin to end his holdout at 36 games. In Yashin’s absence, a new leader had emerged. Sweden’s Daniel Alfredsson scored 26 goals and 35 assists to not only lead the team in scoring, but also claim the NHL’s Calder Trophy as its top rookie.

It remains the only piece of individual hardware the league has handed to a Senator thus far.

The team’s most significant win came on April 13, its last game of the season. The New Jersey Devils came to town, needing a win to make the playoffs so they could defend their Stanley Cup championship. But the upstarts from Ottawa would not give in.

Radek Bonk had two goals and an assist, Tom Chorske scored twice, Alfredsson had a goal and an assist and Damian Rhodes made 36 saves in a 5-2 victory that enabled the Tampa Bay Lightning — which came into the league the same season as the Senators — to make the playoffs ahead of New Jersey.

That win remains one of the biggest highlights the building now known as Scotiabank Place has ever seen.

History will show the Senators left the Civic Centre with a whimper, going 0-11-1 in the last dozen games at their initial home. They also went winless in their first five games after the move, but with all the changes that were made it was clear they had left a lot of their old baggage down by the canal.

They finished the season with a decent 6-9-2 record and, for the first time, real hope of having turned the corner.